


Lessons Unlearned

by avada_matata



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Good platonic feels, anakin calls the Jedi Council out on their bullshit, brotp: snips and skyguy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11720913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avada_matata/pseuds/avada_matata
Summary: After Ahsoka finds her way back from the island of Wasskah, Anakin learns some unsettling truths about the Jedi Council.





	Lessons Unlearned

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inspired by a [ tumblr ](http://grand-duc.tumblr.com/post/163678077926/redrikki-thewillowbends-redrikki) post
> 
> It also touches a bit on some other topics about Anakin and Ahsoka's relationship. This is honestly just the tip of the iceberg regarding those certain points and my feelings about it (but it's hard to fit all that in a couple words of dialogue; plus Anakin isn't known for being a wordsmith) 
> 
> Who knows, maybe more about this will turn up in my future writing, but I just had to get this off my chest.

“I'm proud of you, Snips,” Anakin said, resting a hand on his Padawan’s shoulder as he led her to the med center in the Temple. The Trandoshan hunters were vicious, but Ahsoka had prevailed over all of them, finding her own way back to the Temple. And while he couldn't say out loud how worried he'd been when she hadn't shown up after the battle on Felucia, he was glad to grant her well-deserved praise. 

She smiled at him. “Thank you, Master.”

Though she wasn't severely injured, Anakin could see the way she winced slightly as she walked, feel her pain bleeding through their training bond. 

They paused just outside the medical wing. “Ahsoka,” he said. She turned to him and he let some of his relief at her return show through the Force. “I'm glad you're safe.” 

Ahsoka looked away, her smile turning into more of a grimace. “It was...hard, Master. A different kind of battlefield.”

Thankfully, there were no Jedi around to see Anakin pull his Padawan in for a quick, gentle hug. “Talk to me after you get some sleep, yeah?” 

The pulled away, and Ahsoka nodded, activating the doors for the med center and stepping inside. 

Anakin was about to follow when his comlink beeped. “Skywalker,” he answered. 

“Council meeting, Anakin.” Obi-Wan’s voice came through the frequency. “You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

Anakin scowled. “On my way,” he said, waving to Ahsoka as he left. 

 

Anakin’s face was a mask of indifference when he stepped inside the Council chambers. Obi-Wan, seated between Yoda and Plo Koon, caught his eye and gave a slight shake of his head, though not unkindly. Anakin nodded at his former Master. 

“Sorry I'm late, Masters. I was escorting my Padawan to the medical wing,” he said respectfully. 

Master Plo nodded in agreement. “Ahsoka has indeed been through trying times of late.”

“Impressed we are, with your Padawan’s abilities,” Master Yoda added.

Anakin bowed his head. “Thank you, Masters.” He’d be sure to inform Ahsoka; praise from the Council was rare, however deserved. In his opinion, it was about time. 

“However,” Master Yoda continued, “much to be improved, your actions require.”

Anakin bristled at that. Suppressing his irritation, he responded coolly. “I'm not sure what you mean, Master Yoda.”

Yoda folded his fingers together. “Refused to let Padawan Tano go, you did.” 

Anakin noticed Obi-Wan shuffling uncomfortably in his seat. 

“With all due respect, Master, I will not give up on my Padawan,” he said, an edge to his voice. Did they really expect him to sit back and let Ahsoka die if he could help it? He clenched his fists tightly behind his back. 

Yoda shook his head. “As much of a test, this was, for you as well as your Padawan.”

Those were the wrong words. 

“A _test?_ She could've been _killed!_ ” Anakin was almost shouting now. 

“Skywalker,” Mace Windu said warningly. 

“All is as the Force wills, Skywalker,” Yoda implored. 

The words should not have been a shock to him; it was the Jedi Way after all. But he hadn't expected such a blunt admission from the Council. That if it hadn't been for Ahsoka’s skill, they would have let her die without a second thought. 

“Prepared you must be to let your Padawan go. Prepared you are _not_.” 

Anakin folded his arms and stared at the shriveled Jedi Master. “Is this another test, then? Was having me train her a test as well?”

Obi-Wan and Plo exchanged looks. Yoda was silent. 

Anakin didn't need another answer. 

“How dare you.” His voice was steady, but it did nothing to hide the fire behind his eyes. 

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan exclaimed. 

Anakin ignored him. He hadn't been this _angry_ in a long time, felt the Force roiling around him like this. He looked Yoda in the eyes. “How _dare_ you. You can't - you can't _use_ people like that! Ahsoka is _not_ some tool you can use to - to make sure your ‘Chosen One’ turns out just as callous as you!” Anakin was practically snarling in the Jedi Master's face, his finger jabbing accusingly at Yoda’s impassive expression. “You don't even _care_ that she almost died, long as I learn my lesson!”

“A lesson you have obviously not learned yet, Skywalker,” Mace Windu said with a stern expression. 

“Control yourself, you must. To the Dark Side, your anger will lead,” Yoda admonished. 

Anakin shook his head. “Don't change the subject,” he snapped. “You are willing to put _my Padawan_ in danger just to get me to play the part _you_ want, and I'm _finished_.” 

He stepped back, clasping his hands behind his back and bowed respectfully. “Good day, Masters.”

“Anakin, wait!” he heard Obi-Wan exclaim.

Anakin left the Council chamber without another word. 

 

After Ahsoka had woken freshly healed from her rest, Anakin had taken her for ice cream sundaes at Dex’s Diner rather than the meditation chambers in the Jedi Temple. It had taken the walk across Coruscant’s shopping district for Anakin to figure out what to say to his Padawan; he still didn't know, couldn't find the right words. But that was secondary. At the moment, Ahsoka’s simmering emotions required more attention. He had promised her a talk, and talk they would. 

Currently, the young Jedi was picking at her chocolate-coated ice cream (Anakin had finished his), refusing to meet his eyes. Anakin felt her frustration through the Force, though it echoed of something deeper. Patience was a virtue that required extra effort, but he had been on the other end of similar discussions multiple times. Ahsoka would speak, when she was ready. 

After a length of silence Ahsoka sighed and dropped her spoon, resting her head in her hand. “I'm sorry, Master, I should be better at this, I'm a Jedi.” 

“Ahsoka,” Anakin said, causing her to look at him finally. “I'm not going to punish you for having feelings.” 

Ahsoka’s mask slipped slightly; to her credit she recovered quickly. “Master Yoda said I just need to release my feelings into the Force, then it will be better, but…” She trailed off, not wanting to admit to the difficulty of the task. 

“It's hard,” Anakin finished. He paused. “Sometimes, it’s easier to understand what you're feeling before you can move on.” That wasn't to say Anakin still didn't struggle with this as well. “I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me. Honest-to-Force talking, Snips.” 

He put his hands up in mock surrender as she sighed again and gave a small smile. 

Ahsoka opened her mouth, and she spoke. And Anakin listened. 

“I -- felt so alone, on that island. I had your training, but not you, or Rex. And the other younglings, Force, they were so _hopeless_ I almost let it get to me. And then Kalifa died and --” she paused, sucking in a breath. “And it was my fault.” She shook her head. “There’s so many possibilities that I could still be there, still stuck. Halfway across the galaxy, where no one bothered to look. Do you know how long those younglings were trapped there? Years, Anakin. What if that were me?” 

She wasn't crying, but the fear and worry in her voice were as real as the ice cream she had pounded to a sludge in her bowl. She put the spoon down again, not realizing she had picked it up. 

Anakin’s heart ached for her, especially with the new revelations from the Jedi Council. They would have left her there. 

He reached out to her through their bond, sending comfort and empathy. “Ahsoka, I'm sorry. I…can't say anything for the Jedi, but I can promise you I'd never have stopped looking, if you hadn't found your way back.” 

“I know.” Ahsoka seemed to take comfort in that, though, “but sometimes I still wonder if you really want me as your Padawan,” she said somewhat sheepishly. 

“Ahsoka, that's-” Anakin paused. He remembered feeling the same way about Obi-Wan in his early Padawan days. “-oh. I...understand that.” He told her about Obi-Wan, and how his training had been forced onto the newly-made knight. 

“I didn't know that,” Ahsoka said, a cautious expression crossing her features. 

A pause filled the air as Anakin tried to find the right words. 

“I know I didn't choose you as my Padawan,” he started, “and you won't always be my Padawan, but I'll _always_ be here for you, Ahsoka.” 

Ahsoka thought back to her stay on the island, remembering how Anakin’s teachings had stayed with her, though he had not. She supposed that they would always remain, a constant guide throughout her life, and sent her appreciation and warmth to him through their shared bond. 

“Thanks,” she said hoarsely, and this time her smile reached her eyes. 

Anakin smiled in return, pulled out a few credits, and left them on the table. “Come on, Snips, let’s get going.” 

They left the diner together, heading off to the Temple for the rest of their well-deserved leave. 

And despite the huge gap in logical reasoning behind the Council’s decision, Anakin was glad Ahsoka was his Padawan; glad for the opportunity to teach her, and even the responsibility to protect her, be it from the Separatists, the War, or even the Jedi.

**Author's Note:**

> Sue me for not wanting to write all 12 members of the Jedi council. This isn't really about them anyways
> 
> Tbh Anakin needed a good yell at the Council; I'm only too happy to oblige. I don't know if he would've figured this out in canon, but that's not really the point right? 
> 
> As for the ending of this regarding what anakin is telling ahsoka (and not telling her) I'm imagining this being a first step in a change in their relationship- I'd like to see them being more honest with each other and being more like friends/brothers than master and apprentice (idk if that's just me who prefers that but. Yanno). So if I were planning on writing an entire multiple-chaptered au based on this, yes, it would eventually include Anakin confiding in ahsoka about his marriage and stuff, and possibly some sort of fix-it. 
> 
> ((Or I'd pull a lion king: "You said you'd always be there for me, Anakin! But you're not."))
> 
> To go along with the theme of honestly, though, I probably won't end up writing it, but it's a nice thought :)


End file.
